FIGHT OR FLIGHT

Present day

When Mrs Hughes saw the butler leave the bar and head upstairs instead of towards her, her heart sank. It seemed even a man-to-man chat fails when something like this comes up.

"How did it go?" Mrs Patmore asked her husband when he returned to them, he looked emotionally drained.

"Better than I thought." He raised hope in the two ladies.

"What did he say?" Elsie looked at him eagerly.

"Not much to me at all, but he said he would talk to you."

"I don't understand." The housekeeper probed him.

"I think you should go upstairs and talk it out with him, that's all." He still wasn't very specific, but Elsie got the gist and started to gather her things to follow her husband.

She entered their room without knocking and it caused Charles to jump.

"Where have you been all day?" Elsie started perhaps not so neatly.

Wrath immediately seized him. "Now I am the one who's got explaining to do?"

"Well-" Mrs Hughes hesitated. "Yes." And crossed her arms.

"I went for a walk, I ended up all the way in Acton, and took the bus back, if you must know." He snarled.

"I see." She was about to tell him how worried she was, but he jumped in.

"Now you! Explain yourself." He was seething, the palsy tremors growing stronger in his hand.

"I already told you; it didn't mean anything; I didn't even want to go!"

Charles didn't let her continue as a fresh swell of rage rose in him. "I can't believe you were jealous of Mrs Kent-" He remembered Mrs Patmore's drunken outburst couple nights ago.

"What?" Why would he bring that up now, she thought.

"I have never even thought of that woman in an inappropriate manner, yet you can go out galivanting with men, doing Lord knows what, and that doesn't mean anything?"

"Well, Mr Carson, I can assure you I wasn't galivanting nor doing Lord knows what! And regarding Mrs Kent, I wasn't really jealous of her, I was just jealous of the time she gets to spend with you, while I am out all day working!" Her voice cracked when she remembered how much that pained her.

His eyes met hers with sympathy (after such a long time finally something else other than anger.) "I didn't know that, Elsie."

"Because I didn't tell you. And I didn't know about his lordship's plan for me either." She explained.

"Well," Mr Carson sighed. "That explains that but what about the rest?" He gave her another chance.

"Mrs Patmore wanted to go on a date with Mr Willis, but Mr Vyner insisted he comes along, and she brings a friend-"

Hearing the story and the inspector's name unravelled the butler's fury again. "And you had to go?" He asked sarcastically.

"I didn't have to, no, but I did it as a favour for Mrs Patmore."

"What a favour to ask!" He roared and rolled his eyes.

"I said I would go, but intended to reject him immediately if he made any advances-" She continued but jerked a little when he started yelling at her.

"I can't listen to this!"

"May I remind you again, Charlie, that we did not have an understanding back then!"

"My wife the village tart!"

"Now, Mr Carson!" Elsie struggled to catch her breath as rage finally gripped her completely. "First of all, I was not your wife back then, and second of all, you must stop insulting me and let me finish!" She was now screaming louder then him, and red spots were appearing on different parts of her body.

Mr Carson's eye was twitching when he was looking at her, but her words finally got to him, and he ordered himself to respond calmy. "Carry on then." He gestured for her to continue but then promptly raised his hand to stop her again. "But spare me the details!"

She rolled her eyes at him, still panting. "As I said, I went there with the intention of rejecting him straight away."

"Go on." He encouraged her after she took a break to catch her breath.

"I didn't tell you then, because I didn't want to make a big deal out of it."

"So, you lied to me?" Charles snapped.

"Yes, I lied," She admitted. "Because I didn't want you to think I was interested in other men."

"Yet you went out with one on a date!"

Elsie rolled her eyes again. "Charlie, please, I asked you let me finish."

"All right." He pouted his lips.

"When we actually met up with them, I found Mr Vyner revolting from the get-go."

Charles listened up and raised his eyebrows in interest.

"He was licking his knife, clicking at the waitress, smacking his lips after every sip of his beer, and belching like a pig." Elsie shook her head as she remembered that day in the pub.

"He was what?" Mr Carson couldn't believe his ears, and he wanted to know more.

"He had no manners whatsoever, Charlie." She reiterated.

"Sounds like it." One corner of the butler's lips twitched up slightly.

"We just talked, and he said he'd like to see me again."

"And what did you say?" His heartbeat was quickening again.

"I said no, but he insisted I thought about it, but I told him I wouldn't change my mind."

Mr Carson just grumbled like a dog that's preparing for an attack.

"He sent me a letter afterwards, asking to reconsider."

"And you didn't lead him on?" Charles was testing her, one of his eyebrows raised.

"No, I did not!" Elsie said firmly. "I said no a few times, and when it eventually got through to him, he suddenly switched."

"What do you mean?" He had no idea where she was going with this.

"He started acting like a child. He sent me another letter saying he was my best and last chance, and that I would never find anyone else."

Mr Carson was now puzzled by her story. "Did that upset you?" He asked out of curiosity rather than jealousy.

"Not particularly." She declared.

"And when he came back? He didn't try anything?"

"No, he didn't, he was awfully hostile towards me from the first day he arrived at Downton."

"I thought he was that way towards everyone."

"Maybe." She stated questioningly.

"And you didn't-" He cleared his throat. "-encourage him then or before?"

"No!" Elsie offered him more reassurance. "If you must know-" She stepped closer to him now. "I was thinking about you the whole time I was on that date."

Mr Carson didn't say anything, just gaped at her as his breathing was getting deeper.

"I couldn't wait to get back to Downton, and the first thing I did was to knock on your door." She was trying to convey how silly he was being.

"I remember." Charles swallowed loudly.

"We had wine together and you told me I looked smart." She stepped even closer to him, looking deeply into his eyes. "You were on my mind the whole day, Mr Carson, from the date, through to when I was going to bed that night." She immediately looked away and started blushing because she didn't mean for it to sound so risqué.

"Oh, Elsie…" Was all he could say, as he once again succumbed to her charms. He stepped forward and cupped her cheek, stroking it with his thumb.

"Charlie." She looked up at him again and received his wet lips on hers with eagerness, whimpering into his mouth softly.

Mr Carson slowly deepened the kiss, as if he was forbidden from having her for a thousand years and now the ban was lifted. He pulled her closer to him, pushing her chest towards his, pricking himself with the edges of her corset, making them both slightly off balance. "Shall we go to bed?" He asked huskily after he unsuccessfully tried to undo the buttons on the back of her dress. Her sweet "Yes, Charlie," drove him wild and he ripped her dress off, the last couple of buttons flying away. She stepped out of the dress, while he started taking his suit off bit by bit, slowly walking towards one of the single beds. "Take the rest of Elsie…" He was very impatient; his hand was still shaking. Hearing the eagerness in his voice, Elsie nodded shyly, swallowed, and obeyed his orders. She then helped him with his buttons as well and let him worship her with his body…

Mr Carson made sure to kiss and touch every single part of his wife's body that night, to claim her back. He also made sure she enjoyed it this time (unlike the last time they made love on that bed, too hurriedly.) Based on her moaning and encouragements, he gathered she enjoyed it very much, and that made him feel a sense of pride.

Sooo they finally got there... Let me know your thoughts xxx